The Syrian military appears set to retake the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Province on Wednesday, after al-Qaeda’s forces were reported to have withdrawn from the area in recent fighting.
The town is important because it’s on a main highway. Turkey was sending
a military convoy into the town earlier this week, though the convoy
was hit in a Syrian airstrike. Al-Qaeda, however, denies they’re
abandoning the town.
Though all indications are that there isn’t substantial fighting and
they are moving their forces back, al-Qaeda says now that they still are
holding some parts of the town, and that they intend that fighting
should continue.
Al-Qaeda has been losing ground in Idlib since the ceasefire collapsed
last week. Syria was willing to allow the ceasefire to hold if al-Qaeda
would withdraw from the buffer zone, but they ruled out doing so.
If HTS stays to fight in South Khan Sheikun, the SAA will have them completely surrounded in a matter of days, if not sooner. The loss of the key heights around the town means they’re under constant barrage. They’ll just get destroyed by air and arty. The subsequent assault will be more of a mop-up operation. Just like Jibeen and Hobait. Gone are the days when the Salafi-Jihadi armored columns would approach the front like in Kafr Nabudah, Tal Malah, and Qasabiyeh. They’ve been shattered and unless their sponsors find yet another huge stash of money and guns, HTS is well on its way to irrelevance.
Hey now, hey now, the dream is over….